FOX Plans Two-Night '24' Premiere

Still basking in the glow of its first Emmy win for outstanding drama series, FOX's"24" will premiere with a two-night, four-hour event in January.

Following the formula that brought the yielded boffo ratings last year, FOX plans to kick off the sixth season of "24" with two hours of clock-ticking fun on Sunday, Jan. 14, starting at 8 p.m. ET. The following night, FOX will dedicate its primetime hours to two more hours "24."

After force-feeding viewers two nights of fatty "24" goodness, FOX will then wait and give the show it's time period premiere on Monday, Jan 22 at 9 p.m. with the season's fifth hour. From that point, "24" will run uninterrupted through its finale in May.

But don't worry about remembering those dates. FOX will probably offer several reminders as the big date draws nearer. In fact, the network has already set a timetable for promoting the new season. A special sneak peak at season six will launch on the fittingly named website www.24trailer.com on Tuesday, Oct. 24. For readers who lack Internet access -- but are still somehow reading this story -- FOX will also present the sneak footage during Game 3 of the World Series, scheduled for that same night.

When last we saw Jack Bauer (Emmy winner Kiefer Sutherland), he had saved the world. Again. Instead of being thanked, though, he was beaten to a pulp by Chinese government agents who hoped to transport him off to a prison camp somewhere. Nevermind. Season six begins 20 months later, as FOX puts it "After a series of horrific terrorist attacks, an unthinkable, nail-biting day begins."

Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside), brother of late President David Palmer, has become President himself. In addition to Sutherland and Woodside, the new season will feature plenty of familiar faces including the return of favorite characters played by Mary Lynn Rajskub, Roger Cross, James Morrison, Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota.